The invention concerns a rearview mirror assembly for motor vehicles, wherein the assembly includes a housing having two support arms.
Already in common knowledge is the affixing or connecting of rearview mirrors and/or the housings thereof, with the therein contained mirror pane, to a part of the body of a motor vehicle. This is carried out in such a way that two metallic support arms are fastened on the mirror housing, for example, by screwed connection, and the two free ends of the support arms are then connected to the respective body part, for instance, again by a screwed connection.
For this arrangement, two separate support arms are required, which, under certain circumstances, must have different shapes and/or length. Moreover, these two separate support arms must be affixed onto the mirror housing in respectively different production steps. From the standpoint of both production and logistic grounds, this is seen as disadvantageous.
The present invention has the purpose to provide a rearview mirror for motor vehicles so that the disadvantages described are avoided.
To achieve this purpose, the present invention proposes a rearview mirror assembly for motor vehicles, with a mirror pane, which is set in a mirror housing and possessing two support arms, with which the mirror housing is connected to a part of the body of the motor vehicle. This mirror is characterized, in that the two support arms are bound together by a connecting piece essentially at right angles to the support arms, wherein the connecting piece and the two support arms are constructed as one piece (i.e., unitarily) and the connecting piece is integral with the mirror housing.
The present invention calls for the previously separate, two support arms in question to be united in one piece with a connection section, the latter being integral with both support arms. The unit comprised of the connecting piece and the supports affixed thereto is then combined integrally with the mirror housing.
By this design, the installation step of attaching two separate connecting pieces to the mirror housing is dispensed with, so that the production as well as the mounting of the rearview mirror can now be carried out more quickly and at less expense. Furthermore, because of the position of the connecting piece between the two support arms, the connecting piece has a certain axial elongation and reinforces the mirror housing with an advantageous, large surface contact, thus providing improved stability for a rearview mirror designed in accord with the present invention.
Instead of two separate support arms, which must be manufactured, stored, as well as manipulated in the mounting thereof, now only one unit is manufactured, in accord with the invention, this consisting of a connecting piece integrally bound with two support arms, so that the logistic problems in respect to inventory and final installation are substantially reduced.
In accord with a preferred embodiment, the two support arms run essentially parallel to one another and are generally at right angles to the connecting piece. Dependent upon the respective installation or mounting situation on the vehicle body part, the support arms can, obviously, appear at an angle to one another, that is, deviate from the parallel and/or be at an angle to the connecting piece, that is, not necessarily conform to the right angled alignment mentioned above.
Preferentially, the unitized support arms and connecting piece are made of plastic. Although plastic, as a rule, has less rigidity than metal, because of the integral, one-piece design of the support arms and connecting piece, and the flat shape of the connecting piece on the mirror housing, the support arms and connecting piece unit has adequate structural strength even when made of plastic.
Moreover, the manufacture from plastic offers, among other things, the advantages of corrosion resistance, light weight and the possibility of extensive, optional coloration of the material.
The unit comprised of the support arms and the connecting piece can, for instance, be made by injection molding, which allows a controlled production facility which is particularly fast, molds to exact shape and is technologically without problems. Another possibility would be, to produce the support arm/connecting piece by the Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) procedure. With this procedure, the core shape is laid in the casting mold and then, under high pressure, the core is sprayed with a build-up plastic. Again in this case, parts of especially exact shape, with stability and high load capacity, can be fabricated.
The connecting piece can optionally possess an axial extension which exceeds the distance between the two support arms. In this matter, the contact surface is increased in an advantageous manner between the connecting piece and the mirror housing.
If the connecting piece extends axially along both sides, exceeding the corresponding distance between the two support arms, the possibility arises for greater symmetry in the mounting of the support arms on the connecting piece and thereby also the mirror housing, should this be desired. The axial extension of the connecting piece can, moreover, be so great, that in the axial direction, it conforms to the axial extension of the mirror housing. By such a measure, a particularly large-surfaced contact between the connecting piece and the mirror housing is achievable.
If the connecting piece and the mirror housing are releasably bound to one another, then the mirror housing can be taken off the unitized connecting piece and support arms, should this become necessary due to damage to the mirror pane or on other grounds.
Finally, the connecting piece and the mirror housing matingly provide corresponding shape-actuated, snap-on closures, with which the fastening between the connecting piece and the mirror housing can be accomplished very quickly.
Further details, aspects and advantages of the present invention are available from the following description of an embodiment, with the help of the drawings.